Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T03:47:35.484Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

LOWLAND MAYA GENESIS: THE LATE ARCHAIC TO LATE EARLY FORMATIVE TRANSITION IN THE UPPER BELIZE RIVER VALLEY

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 December 2021

Jaime J. Awe*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Northern Arizona University, 5 E. McConnell Drive, Flagstaff, Arizona86011-5200, United States
Claire E. Ebert
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh, 3302 WWPH, S Bouquet St, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania15260, United States
W. James Stemp
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology, Keene State College, 229 Main Street, Keene, New Hampshire03435-3400, United States
M. Kathryn Brown
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at San Antonio, 1 UTSA Circle, San Antonio, Texas78249-1644, United States
Lauren A. Sullivan
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, Massachusetts02125, United States
James F. Garber
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Texas State University, 266 Evans Liberal Arts, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, Texas78666-4684, United States
*
E-mail correspondence to: [email protected]

Abstract

The transition from the Late Archaic to the Late Early Formative period witnessed profound changes in the Maya lowlands. In addition to the establishment of the first settlements and agrarian communities, this critical phase of cultural development heralded the introduction of ceramics, saw changes in lithic technology, gave rise to inter-regional trade and exchange, and witnessed the introduction of a complex symbolic system expressed on portable objects. In this article, we synthesize data collected over the past several decades by various archaeological projects in western Belize to provide an overview of the cultural changes that unfolded during the Late Archaic to Late Early Formative period in the Upper Belize River Valley. We also provide evidence indicating that it was during this critical transitional period that we begin to see the establishment of several cultural traditions that became uniquely lowland Maya.

Type
Special Section: The Preceramic and Early Ceramic Periods in Belize and the Central Maya Lowlands
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Anselmetti, Flavio S., Hodell, David A., Ariztegui, Daniel, Brenner, Mark, and Rosenmeier, Michael F. 2007 Quantification of Soil Erosion Rates Related to Ancient Maya Deforestation. Geology 35:915918.10.1130/G23834A.1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aoyama, Kazuo 1999 Ancient Maya State, Urbanism, Exchange and Craft Specialization: Chipped Stone Evidence from the Copan Valley and the La Entrada Region, Honduras. University of Pittsburgh Memoirs in Latin American Archaeology 12. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh.Google Scholar
Aoyama, Kazuo 2017a Ancient Maya Economy: Lithic Production and Exchange Around Ceibal, Guatemala. Ancient Mesoamerica 28:279303.10.1017/S0956536116000183CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aoyama, Kazuo 2017b Preclassic and Classic Maya Interregional and Long-Distance Exchange: A Diachronic Analysis of Obsidian Artifacts from Ceibal, Guatemala. Latin American Antiquity 28:213231.10.1017/laq.2017.2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aoyama, Kazuo, and Munson, Jessica 2012 Ancient Maya Obsidian Exchange and Chipped Stone Production at Caobal, Guatemala. Mexicon 34:3442.Google Scholar
Arnold, Phillip J. III 1999 Tecomates, Residential Mobility, and Early Formative Occupation in Coastal Lowland Mesoamerica. In Pottery and People: A Dynamic Interaction, edited by Skibo, James M. and Feinman, Gary M., pp. 159170. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Awe, Jaime J. 1992 Dawn in the Land Between the Rivers: Formative Occupation at Cahal Pech, Belize and Its Implications for Preclassic Development in the Maya Lowlands. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Institute of Archaeology, University of London, London.Google Scholar
Awe, Jaime J. 2020 The Evolution of Anthropomorphic Imagery at Cahal Pech, Belize and Its Implications for the Rise of Kingship in the Middle Preclassic Maya Lowlands. Manuscript in author's possession.Google Scholar
Awe, Jaime J.. 2021 Archaeological Evidence for the Preclassic Origins of the Maya Creation Story and the Resurrection of the Maize God at Cahal Pech, Belize. In The Myths of the Popol Vuh in Cosmology Art and Ritual, edited by Moyes, Holley, Christenson, Allen, and Sachse, Frauke, pp. 93116. University Press of Colorado, Louisville.10.5876/9781646421992.c005CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Awe, Jaime J., and Healy, Paul F. 1994 Flakes to Blades? Middle Formative Development of Obsidian Artifacts in the Upper Belize River Valley. Latin American Antiquity 54:115.Google Scholar
Awe, Jaime J., Helmke, Christophe, and Morton, Shawn G. 2020 Beyond the Twilight Zone: Cave Exploration in the Macal River Valley, Belize. In The Realm Below: Speleoarchaeological Investigations in the Macal River Valley, Belize, edited by Helmke, Christophe, pp. 2073. Precolumbian Mesoweb Press, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Ball, Joseph, and Taschek, Jennifer 2003 Reconsidering the Belize Valley Preclassic: A Case for Multiethnic Interactions in the Development of a Regional Culture Tradition. Ancient Mesoamerica 14:179217.10.1017/S0956536103142034CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beach, Timothy, Luzzadder-Beach, Sheryl, Dunning, Nicholas, Jones, John, Lohse, Jon C., Guderjan, Thomas, Bozarth, Steve, Millspaugh, Sarah, and Bhattacharya, Tripti 2009 A Review of Human and Natural Changes in Maya Lowlands Wetlands over the Holocene. Quaternary Science Reviews 28:17101724.10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.02.004CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blake, Michael M., Clark, John E., Voorhies, Barbara, Michaels, George, Love, Michael, Pye, Mary E., Demarest, Arthur A., and Arroyo, Barbara 1995 Radiocarbon Chronology for the Late Archaic and Formative Periods on the Pacific Coast of Southeastern Mesoamerica. Ancient Mesoamerica 6:161183.10.1017/S0956536100002169CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brady, James E. 1995 A Reassessment of the Chronology and Function of Gordon's Cave #3, Copan, Honduras. Ancient Mesoamerica 6:2938.10.1017/S095653610000208XCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bronk Ramsey, Christopher 2009 Bayesian Analysis of Radiocarbon Dates. Radiocarbon 51:337360.10.1017/S0033822200033865CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, M. Kathryn 2003 Emerging Complexity in the Maya Lowlands: A View from Blackman Eddy, Belize. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Department of Anthropology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas.Google Scholar
Brown, M. Kathryn, and Garber, James F. 2003 Evidence of Conflict During the Middle Formative in the Maya Lowlands: A View from Blackman Eddy, Belize. In Ancient Maya Warfare, edited by Kathryn Brown, M. and Stanton, Travis W., pp. 91108. Altamira Press, Walnut Creek/Lahman, New York and Oxford.Google Scholar
Brown, M. Kathryn, Jennifer Cochran, Leah McCurdy, and Mixter, David 2011 Preceramic to Postclassic: A Brief Synthesis of the Occupation History of Group E, Xunantunich. Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 8:209220.Google Scholar
Brown, M. Kathryn, Awe, Jaime J., and Garber, James F. 2018 The Role of Ideology, Religion, and Ritual in the Foundation of Social Complexity in the Belize River Valley. In Pathways to Complexity: A View from the Maya Lowlands, edited by Kathryn Brown, M. and Bey, George, pp. 87116. University of Florida Press, Orlando.10.2307/j.ctvx075hx.10CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cagnato, Clarissa 2021 Gathering and Sowing Across the Central Maya Lowlands: A Review of Plant Use by Preceramic Peoples and the Early to Middle Preclassic Maya. Ancient Mesoamerica 32:486501.Google Scholar
Callaghan, Michael G., Pierce, Daniel E., and Gilstrap, William D. 2018 The First Maya Trade Ware? New Data on Middle Preclassic-Period Mars Orange Ware from Holtun, Guatemala. Latin American Antiquity 12:821827.10.1017/laq.2018.42CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carr, Helen S., and Fradkin, Arlene 2008 Animal Resource Use in Ecological and Economic Context at Formative Period Cuello, Belize. Quaternary International 191:144153.10.1016/j.quaint.2007.08.009CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Castellanos, Jeanette E., and Foias, Antonia E. 2017 The Earliest Maya Farmers of Peten: New Evidence from Buenavista-Nuevo San José, Central Peten Lakes Region, Guatemala. Journal of Anthropology 2017:8109137.10.1155/2017/8109137CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheetham, David 2010 Corn, Colanders, and Cooking: Early Maize Processing in the Maya Lowlands and Its Implications. In Pre-Columbian Foodways: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Food, Culture, and Markets in Ancient Mesoamerica, edited by Staller, John E. and Carrasco, Michael, pp. 345368. Springer, New York.10.1007/978-1-4419-0471-3_14CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, John E., and Blake, Michael 1994 The Power of Prestige: Competitive Generosity and the Emergence of Rank Societies in Lowland Mesoamerica. In Factional Competition and Political Development in the New World, edited by Brumfiel, Elizabeth M. and Fox, John W., pp. 1730. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.10.1017/CBO9780511598401.003CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, John, and Cheetham, David 2002 Mesoamerica's Tribal Foundations. In The Archaeology of Tribal Societies, edited by Parkinson, William, pp. 278339. Archaeological Series 15. International Monographs in Prehistory, Ann Arbor.10.2307/j.ctv8bt29z.18CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, John E., and Gosser, David 1995 Reinventing Mesoamerica's First Pottery. In The Emergence of Pottery: Technology and Innovation in Ancient Societies, edited by Barnett, William K. and Hoopes, John W., pp. 209221. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Coe, Michael D., Urcid, Javier, and Koontz, Rex 2015 Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs, 8th ed. Thames and Hudson, London.Google Scholar
Coe, Sophie D. 1994 America's First Cuisines. University of Texas Press, Austin.10.7560/711556CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cowgill, Ursula M., and Hutchinson, George E. 1956 The Chemical History of Laguna de Petenxil. Memoirs of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences 17:121126.Google Scholar
DeLance, Lisa L. 2016 Enhancing Kinship: Figurines and State Formation at Cahal Pech, Cayo, Belize. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Department of Anthropology, University of California, Riverside.Google Scholar
DeLance, Lisa L., and Awe, Jaime J. 2021 The Complexity of Figurines: Ancestor Veneration at Cahal Pech, Cayo, Belize. In Framing Complexity: Vantages from Formative Mesoamerica, edited by DeLance, Lisa L. and Feinman, Garry M., pp. 291323. University of Colorado Press, Louisville, and Utah State University Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Dunning, Nicholas, Luzzadder-Beach, Sheryl, Beach, Timothy, Jones, John, Scarborough, Vernon, and Culbert, Patrick 2002 Arising from the Bajos: The Evolution of a Neotropical Landscape and the Rise of Maya Civilization. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 92:267283.10.1111/1467-8306.00290CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ebert, Claire 2017 Preclassic Social Complexity and Origins of Inequality at Cahal Pech, Belize. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park.Google Scholar
Ebert, Claire E., and Awe, Jaime J. 2018 Reconstructing Preclassic Maya Household Economies in the Belize River Valley. Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 15:6578.Google Scholar
Ebert, Claire E., and Awe, Jaime J. 2020 Who Were the Early Preclassic Maya? Reassessing Key Questions About the Origins of Village Life in the Belize River Valley. Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 17:273286.Google Scholar
Ebert, Claire E., Dennison, Mark, Hirth, Kenneth G., McClure, Sarah B., and Kennett, Douglas J. 2014 Formative Period Obsidian Exchange along the Pacific Coast of Mesoamerica. Archaeometry 57(S1):5473.10.1111/arcm.12095CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ebert, Claire E., May, Nancy Peniche, Culleton, Brendan J., Awe, Jaime J., and Kennett, Douglas J. 2017 Regional Response to Drought During the Formation and Decline of Preclassic Maya Societies. Quaternary Science Reviews 173:211235.10.1016/j.quascirev.2017.08.020CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ebert, Claire E., Hoggarth, Julie A., Awe, Jaime J., Culleton, Brendan J., and Kennett, Douglas J. 2019a The Role of Diet in Resilience and Vulnerability to Climate Change Among Early Agricultural Communities in the Maya Lowlands. Current Anthropology 60:589601.10.1086/704530CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ebert, Claire E., Pierce, Daniel E., and Awe, Jaime J. 2019b Preclassic Ceramic Economy in Belize: Neutron Activation Analysis at Cahal Pech. Antiquity 93:12661283.10.15184/aqy.2019.93CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Estrada-Belli, Francisco 2011 The First Maya Civilization: Ritual and Power Before the Classic Period. Routledge, London.Google Scholar
Evans, Susan T. 2008 Ancient Mexico and Central America: Archaeology and Culture History, 2nd ed. Thames and Hudson, London.Google Scholar
Flannery, Kent V. 1969 Origins and Ecological Effects of Early Domestication in Iran and the Near East. In The Domestication and Exploitation of Plants and Animals, edited by Ucko, Peter J. and Dimbleby, Geoffrey W., pp. 73100. Duckworth, London.Google Scholar
Flannery, Kent V. 1976 Contextual Analysis of Ritual Paraphernalia from Formative Oaxaca. In The Early Mesoamerican Village, edited by Flannery, Kent V., pp. 333345. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Flannery, Kent V. 2001 Dog. In Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: An Encyclopedia, edited by Evans, Susan Toby and Webster, David L., pp. 221222. Garland Publishing, New York.Google Scholar
Flannery, Kent V. (editor) 2009 Guilá Naquitz: Archaic Foraging and Early Agriculture in Oaxaca, Mexico. Updated ed. Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek.Google Scholar
Flannery, Kent V., and Marcus, Joyce (editors) 1983 The Cloud People: Divergent Evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec Civilizations. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Flannery, Kent V., and Marcus, Joyce (editors) 2005 Excavations at San José Mogote 1: The Household Archaeology. Prehistory and Human Ecology of the Valley of Oaxaca 13/Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology 40. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.10.3998/mpub.11394743CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flannery, Kent V., and Marcus, Joyce (editors) 2015 Excavations at San José Mogote 2: The Cognitive Archaeology. Prehistory and Human Ecology of the Valley of Oaxaca 16/Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology 58. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.10.3998/mpub.11395541CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flannery, Kent V., Marcus, Joyce, and Kowalewski, Stephen A. 1981 The Preceramic and Formative of the Valley of Oaxaca. In Supplement to the Handbook of Middle American Indians Volume 1: Archaeology, edited by Victoria Bricker, pp. 4893. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Garber, James F., and Awe, Jaime J. 2009 A Terminal Early Formative Symbol System in the Maya Lowlands: The Iconography of the Cunil Phase (1100–900 b.c.) at Cahal Pech. Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 6:151160.Google Scholar
Garber, James F., Kathryn Brown, M., and Hartman, Christopher J. 2002 The Early/Middle Formative Kanocha Phase (1200–850 b.c.) at Blackman Eddy, Belize. Report on file with the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc., Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Garber, James F., Kathryn Brown, M., Awe, Jaime J., and Hartman, Christopher J. 2004 The Terminal Early Formative Kanocha Phase (1100–900 b.c.) at Blackman Eddy. Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 1:1326.Google Scholar
Gibson, Eric C. 1991 A Preliminary Functional and Contextual Study of Constricted Adzes from Northern Belize. In Maya Stone Tools: Selected Papers from the Second Maya Lithic Conference, edited by Hester, Thomas R. and Shafer, Harry J., pp. 229237. Monographs in World Archaeology 1. Prehistory Press, Madison.Google Scholar
Gifford, James C. 1970 The Earliest and Other Intrusive Population Elements at Barton Ramie. Cerámica de Cultura Maya 6:110.Google Scholar
Golitko, Mark, and Feinman, Gary M. 2015 Procurement and Distribution of Pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican Obsidian 900 B.C.–A.D. 1520: A Social Network Analysis. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 22:206247.Google Scholar
Green, Judith S. 2010 Feasting with Foam: Ceremonial Drinks of Cacao, Maize, and Pataxte Cacao. In Pre-Columbian Foodways: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Food, Culture, and Markets in Ancient Mesoamerica, edited by Staller, John E. and Carrasco, Michael, pp. 315344. Springer, New York.10.1007/978-1-4419-0471-3_13CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Griffith, Cameron S., and Helmke, Christophe G. 2000 Preliminary Investigations and GIS Spatial Analysis in Actun Halal, Belize. In The Western Belize Regional Cave Project: A Report of the 2000 Field Season, edited by Awe, Jaime J., pp. 98113. Department of Anthropology Occasional Paper 3. University of New Hampshire, Durham.Google Scholar
Grove, David 2000 Faces of the Earth at Chalcatzingo, Mexico: Serpents, Caves, and Monuments in Middle Formative Period Iconography. In Olmec Art and Archaeology in Mesoamerica, edited by Clark, John E. and Pye, Mary E., pp. 277295. National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Grove, David C., and Gillespie, Susan D. 1984 Chalcatzingo's Portrait Figurines and the Cult of the Ruler. Archaeology July/August:2733.Google Scholar
Halperin, Christina T. 2005 Social Power and Sacred Space at Actun Nak Beh, Belize. In Stone Houses and Earth Lords: Maya Religion in the Cave Context, edited by Prufer, Keith M. and Brady, James E., pp. 7190. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.Google Scholar
Halperin, Christina T. 2014 Maya Figurines: Intersections between State and Household. University of Texas Press, Austin.10.7560/771307CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Halperin, Christina T., Garza, Sergio, Prufer, Keith M., and Brady, James E. 2003 Caves and Ancient Maya Ritual Use of Jute. Latin American Antiquity 14:207219.10.2307/3557596CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hammond, Norman 1977 British Archaeology in Belize, 1976. Antiquity 51:6165.Google Scholar
Hammond, Norman 1989 The Function of Maya Middle Preclassic Figurines. Mexicon 11:1114.Google Scholar
Hammond, Norman 1991 Cuello: An Early Maya Community in Belize. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Hansen, Richard D., Forsyth, Donald W., Woods, James C., Schreiner, Thomas P., and Titmus, Gene L. 2018 Developmental Dynamics, Energetics, and Complex Economic Interactions of the Early Maya of the Mirador-Calakmul Basin, Guatemala and Campeche, Mexico. In Pathways to Complexity: A View from the Maya Lowlands, edited by Brown, M. Kathryn and Bey, George, pp. 147194. University of Florida Press, Orlando.10.2307/j.ctvx075hx.12CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Healy, Paul F. 1990 Excavations at Pacbitun, Belize: Preliminary Report on the 1986 and 1987 Investigations. Journal of Field Archaeology 17:247262.Google Scholar
Healy, Paul F. 2006 The Preclassic Maya of the Belize Valley: Key Issues and Questions. Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 3:1738.Google Scholar
Healy, Paul F., and Awe, Jaime J. 1995 Radiocarbon Dates from Cahal Pech, Belize: Results from the 1994 Field Season. In Belize Valley Preclassic Maya Project: Report on the 1994 Field Season, edited by Healy, Paul F. and Awe, Jaime J., pp. 198215. Occasional Papers in Anthropology 10. Trent University, Peterborough.Google Scholar
Healy, Paul F., Emery, Kitty, and Wright, Lori 1990 Ancient and Modern Maya Exploitation of the Jute Snail (Pachychilus). Latin American Antiquity 1:170183.10.2307/971986CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Helmke, Christophe, and Ishihara, Reiko 2002 Archaeological Reconnaissance of Cueva Migdalia, Barton Creek Valley, Cayo District, Belize. In The Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Project: A Report of the 2001 Field Season, Volume 1, edited by Awe, Jaime J. and Griffith, Cameron S., pp. 111152. Institute of Archaeology, Belmopan.Google Scholar
Henderson, Hope 2003 The Organization of Staple Crop Production at K'axob, Belize. Latin American Antiquity 14:469496.10.2307/3557579CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hester, Thomas R., and Shafer, Harry J. 1984 Exploitation of Chert Resources by the Ancient Maya of Northern Belize, Central America. World Archaeology 16:157173.10.1080/00438243.1984.9979925CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hester, Thomas R., Kelly, Thomas C., and Ligabue, Giancarlo 1981 A Fluted Paleo-Indian Projectile Point from Belize, Central America. Working Papers in Archaeology 1. Center for Archaeological Research, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio.10.21112/ita.1981.1.26CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hester, Thomas R., Iceland, Harry B., Hudler, Dale B., and Shafer, Harry J. 1996 The Colha Preceramic Project: Preliminary Results from the 1993–1995 Field Seasons. Mexicon 18:4550.Google Scholar
Hohmann, Bobbi M. 2002 Preclassic Maya Shell Ornament Production in the Belize Valley, Belize. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Hohmann, Bobbi, Powis, Terry G., and Healy, Paul F. 2018 Middle Preclassic Maya Shell Ornament Production: Implications for the Development of Complexity at Pacbitun, Belize. In Pathways to Complexity: A View from the Maya Lowlands, edited by Kathryn Brown, M. and Bey, George J. III, pp. 117146. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.10.2307/j.ctvx075hx.11CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoopes, John W. 1994 The Isthmian Alternative: Reconstructing Patterns of Social Organization in Formative Costa Rica. In The Formation of Complex Society in Southeastern Mesoamerica, edited by Fowler, William R. Jr., pp. 171192. BRC Press, Boca Raton.Google Scholar
Horowitz, Rachel A. 2018 Uneven Lithic Landscapes: Raw Material Procurement and Economic Organization Among the Late/Terminal Classic Maya of Western Belize. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 19:949957.Google Scholar
Iceland, Harry 1997 The Preceramic Origins of the Maya: The Results of the Colha Preceramic Project in Northern Belize. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin.Google Scholar
Iceland, Harry 2005 The Preceramic to Early Middle Formative Transition in Northern Belize: Evidence for the Ethnic Identity of the Preceramic Inhabitants. In New Perspectives on Formative Mesoamerican Cultures, edited by Powis, Terry G., pp. 1526. BAR International Series 1377. Hadrian Books, Oxford.Google Scholar
Inomata, Takeshi 2017a The Emergence of Standardized Spatial Plans in Southern Mesoamerica: Chronology and Interregional Interactions Viewed from Ceibal, Guatemala. Ancient Mesoamerica 28:329355.10.1017/S0956536117000049CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inomata, Takeshi 2017b The Isthmian Origins of the E Group and Its Adoption in the Maya Lowlands. In Early Maya E Groups, Solar Calendars, and the Role of Astronomy in the Rise of Lowland Urbanism, edited by Freidel, David A., Chase, Arlen F., Dowd, Anne, and Murdock, Jerry F., pp. 215252. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.10.2307/j.ctvx072vd.14CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inomata, Takeshi, MacLellan, Jessica, Triadan, Daniela, Munson, Jessica, Burham, Melissa, Aoyama, Kazuo, Nasu, Hiroo, Pinzón, Flory, and Yonenobu, Hitoshi 2015 Development of Sedentary Communities in the Maya Lowlands: Coexisting Mobile Groups and Public Ceremonies at Ceibal, Guatemala. PNAS 112:42684273.10.1073/pnas.1501212112CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Inomata, Takeshi, Triadan, Daniela, Pinzón, Flory, and Aoyama, Kazuo 2019 Artificial Plateau Construction During the Preclassic Period at the Maya Site of Ceibal, Guatemala. PLoS ONE 14(8):e0221943. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0221943.10.1371/journal.pone.0221943CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inomata, Takeshi, Triadan, Daniela, Vázquez López, Verónica A., Fernández-Díaz, Juan Carlos, Omori, Takayuki, Bauer, María Belén Méndez, Hernández, Melina García, Beach, Timothy, Cagnato, Clarissa, Aoyama, Kazuo, and Nasu, Hiroo 2020 Monumental Architecture at Aguada Fénix and the Rise of Maya Civilization. Nature 528:530533.10.1038/s41586-020-2343-4CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, John 1994 Pollen Evidence for Early Settlement and Agriculture in Northern Belize. Palynology 18:205211.10.1080/01916122.1994.9989445CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, John G., and Hallock, Ashley 2008 Analysis of Fossil Pollen from Actun Halal, Belize. In Search of the Preceramic: 2006 Season Investigations at Actun Halal, Belize, edited by Lohse, Jon C., pp. 4754. Institute of Archaeology, National Institute of Culture and History, Belmopan.Google Scholar
Joralemon, Peter David 1971 A Study of Olmec Iconography. Studies in Pre-Columbian Art and Archaeology 7. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Joyce, A. Rosemary, and Henderson, John S. 2001 Beginnings of Village Life in Eastern Mesoamerica. Latin American Antiquity 12:524.10.2307/971754CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Joyce, A. Rosemary, and Henderson, John S. 2010 Being “Olmec” in Early Formative Period Honduras. Ancient Mesoamerica 21:187200.10.1017/S0956536110000052CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelly, Thomas C. 1993 Preceramic Projectile-Point Typology in Belize. Ancient Mesoamerica 4:205227.10.1017/S0956536100000900CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennett, Douglas J. 2012 Archaic-Period Foragers and Farmers in Mesoamerica. In The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology, edited by Nichols, Deborah L. and Pool, Christopher A., pp. 141150. Oxford University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Kennett, Douglass J., and Voorhies, Barbara 1996 Oxygen Isotopic Analysis of Archaeological Shells to Detect Seasonal Use of Wetlands on the Southern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Journal of Archaeological Science 23:689704.10.1006/jasc.1996.0065CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennett, Douglas J., Piperno, Dolores R., Jones, John G., Neff, Hector, Voorhies, Barbara, Walsh, Megan K., and Culleton, Brendan J. 2010 Pre-pottery Farmers on the Pacific Coast of Southern Mexico. Journal of Archaeological Science 37:34013411.10.1016/j.jas.2010.07.035CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennett, Douglas J., Thakar, Heather B., VanDerwarker, Amber M., Webster, David L., Culleton, Brendan J., Harper, Thomas K., Kistler, L., Scheffler, Timothy E., and Hirth, Kenneth 2017 High-Precision Chronology for Central American Maize Diversification from El Gigante Rockshelter, Honduras. PNAS 114:90269031.10.1073/pnas.1705052114CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kennett, Douglas J., Prufer, Keith M., Culleton, Brendan J., George, Richard J., Robinson, Mark, Trask, Willa R., Buckley, Gina, Moses, Emily, Kate, Emily J., Harper, Thomas K., O'Donnell, Lexi, Ray, Erin, Hill, Ethan C., Alsgaard, Asia, Merriman, Christopher, Meredith, Clayton, Edgar, Heather J., Awe, Jaime J., and Gutiérrez, Said M. 2020 Early Isotopic Evidence for Maize as a Staple Grain in the Americas. Science Advances 6:111.10.1126/sciadv.aba3245CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kennett, Douglas J., Lipson, Mark, Prufer, Keith M., Mora-Marín, David, George, Richard J., Rohland, Nadin, Robinson, Mark, Trask, Willa R., Edgar, Heather H.J., Hill, Ethan C., Ray, Erin E., Lynch, Paige, Moes, Emily, O'Donnell, Lexi, Harper, Thomas K., Kate, Emily J., Ramos, Josue, Morris, John, Gutierrez, Said, Ryan, Timothy M., Culleton, Brendan J., Awe, Jaime J., and Reich, David 2021 South-to-North Migration Preceded the Advent of Intensive Farming in the Maya Region. Manuscript in senior author’s possession.Google Scholar
Kersey, Kelsey M. 2006 Emerging Elite Economies: Formative Period Obsidian Distribution in the Belize River Valley. In The Belize Valley Archaeology Project: Results of the 2005 Field Season, edited by Garber, James F., pp. 3162. Texas State University, San Marcos.Google Scholar
Lawlor, Elizabeth J., Graham, Amy J., and Fedick, Scott L. 1995 Preclassic Floral Remains from Cahal Pech, Belize. In Belize Valley Preclassic Maya Project: Report on the 1994 Field Season, edited by Healy, Paul F. and Awe, Jaime J., pp. 150165. Occasional Papers in Anthropology 10. Trent University, Peterborough.Google Scholar
LeCount, Lisa J. 2015 Chapter 1: Notes on Terminal Preclassic Ceramic Chronology. In The Actuncan Archaeological Project Report of the 2014 Field Season, edited by LeCount, Lisa, pp. 132. Report submitted to the Belize Institute of Archaeology, Belmopan.Google Scholar
LeCount, Lisa J., and Yaeger, Jason 2008 Tunnel Vision: What We Know About Cunil-Phase Materials and Contexts at Xunantunich, Belize. Paper presented at the 73rd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, March 26–30, Vancouver.Google Scholar
LeCount, Lisa, Mixter, David W., and Simova, Borislava S. 2016 Preliminary Thoughts on Radiocarbon Data from Actuncan's 2015 E-Group Excavations. In The Actuncan Archaeological Project Report of the 2016 Field Season, edited by LeCount, Lisa and Mixter, David W., pp. 2142. Report submitted to the Belize Institute of Archaeology, Belmopan.Google Scholar
LeCount, Lisa J., Mixter, David W., and Simova, Borislava S. 2017 Preliminary Thoughts on Ceramic and Radiocarbon Data from Actuncan's E-Group Excavations. In The Actuncan Archaeological Project: Report of the 2016 Field Season, edited by LeCount, Lisa J. and Mixter, David W., pp. 2142. Report on file with the Belize Institute of Archaeology, Belmopan.Google Scholar
Lee, Richard B. 1979 The !Kung San: Men, Women, and Work in a Foraging Society. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Lohse, Jon C. 2009 The Archaic-to-Preclassic Transition in Belize: What We Know and Why We Don't Know More. Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 6:141150.Google Scholar
Lohse, Jon C. 2010 Archaic Origins of the Lowland Maya. Latin American Antiquity 21:312352.10.7183/1045-6635.21.3.312CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lohse, Jon C. 2020 Archaic Maya Matters. In The Maya World, edited by Hutson, Scott R. and Ardren, Traci, pp. 1128. Routledge, New York.10.4324/9781351029582-3CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lohse, Jon C. 2021 The End of An Era: Closing out the Archaic in the Maya Lowlands. In Exploring the Unnamed Era: Pre-Mamom Pottery in the Maya Lowlands of Yucatan, Petén and Belize, edited by Walker, Debra. University of Florida Press, Gainesville. In press.Google Scholar
Lohse, Jon C., with contributions by LeCount, Lisa, Jones, John G., Beach, Timothy, and Hallock, Ashley 2007 In Search of the Preceramic: 2006 Season Investigations at Actun Halal, Belize. FAMSI report. Electronic document, www.famsi.org/reports/06019/06019Lohse01.pdf, accessed October 14, 2021.Google Scholar
Lohse, Jon C., Awe, Jaime, Griffith, Cameron, Rosenswig, Robert M., and Valdez, Fred Jr. 2006 Preceramic Occupations in Belize: Updating the Paleoindian and Archaic Record. Latin American Antiquity 17:209226.10.2307/25063047CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Love, Michael W. 1991 Style and Social Complexity in Formative Mesoamerica. In The Formation of Complex Society in Southeastern Mesoamerica, edited by Fowler, William R., pp. 4776. CRC Press, Boca Raton.Google Scholar
MacNeish, Richard S. 1967 The Prehistory of the Tehuacán Valley. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
MacNeish, Richard S. 1972 The Evolution of Community Patterns in the Tehuacán Valley of Mexico and Speculations about the Cultural Processes. In Man, Settlement, and Urbanism, edited by Ucko, Peter J., Tringham, Ruth, and Dimbleby, George W., pp. 6793. Duckworth, London.Google Scholar
MacNeish, Richard S., and Nelken-Terner, Antoinette 1981 Second Annual Report of the Belize Archaic Archaeological Reconnaissance. Robert S. Peabody Foundation, Andover.Google Scholar
MacNeish, Richard S., and Nelken-Terner, Antoinette 1983a The Preceramic of Mesoamerica. Journal of Field Archaeology 10:7184.Google Scholar
MacNeish, Richard S., and Nelken-Terner, Antoinette 1983b Final Annual Report of the Belize Archaic Archaeological Reconnaissance. Center for Archaeological Studies, Boston University, Boston.Google Scholar
MacNeish, Richard S., Wilkerson, S. Jeffery K., and Nelken-Terner, Antoinette 1980 First Annual Report of the Belize Archaic Archaeological Reconnaissance. Robert S. Peabody Foundation, Andover.Google Scholar
Marcus, Joyce 1978 Archaeology and Religion: A Comparison of the Zapotec and Maya. World Archaeology 10:172191.10.1080/00438243.1978.9979729CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marcus, Joyce 1989 Zapotec Chiefdoms and the Nature of Formative Religions. In Regional Perspectives on the Olmecs, edited by Sharer, Robert J. and Grove, David C., pp. 148197. Cambridge University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Marcus, Joyce 1993 Men's and Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca. In Ritual Behaviour, Social Identity, and Cosmology in Pre-Classic Mesoamerica, edited by David C., Grove and Joyce, Rosemary, pp. 6796. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Marcus, Joyce 1998 Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca: Figurine-Making, Divination, Death and the Ancestors. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology 33. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.10.3998/mpub.11395180CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marcus, Joyce 2009 Rethinking Figurines. In Mesoamerican Figurines: Small-Scale Indices of Large-Scale Social Phenomena, edited by Halperin, Christina T., Faust, Katherine A., Taube, Rhonda, and Giguet, Aurore, pp. 2550. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Marcus, Joyce, and Flannery, Kent V. 1996 Zapotec Civilization: How Urban Society Evolved in Mexico's Oaxaca Valley. Thames and Hudson, London.Google Scholar
Marcus, Joyce, and Flannery, Kent V. 2005 The Radiocarbon Dating of Public Buildings and Ritual Features in the Ancient Valley of Oaxaca. Report submitted to FAMSI, Coral Gables.Google Scholar
Matthews, Jennifer P., and Garber, James F. 2004 Models of Cosmic Order: The Physical Expression of Sacred Space Among the Ancient Maya. Ancient Mesoamerica 15:4959.10.1017/S0956536104151031CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McAnany, Patricia A. 2004 Situating K'axob Within Formative Period Lowland Maya Archaeology. In K'axob: Ritual, Work, and Family in an Ancient Maya Village, edited by McAnany, Patricia A., pp. 19. Monumenta Archaeologica 22. Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles.Google Scholar
McAnany, Patricia A., and López Varela, Sandra L. 1999 Re-Creating the Formative Maya Village of K'axob: Chronology, Ceramic Complexes, and Ancestors in Architectural Context. Ancient Mesoamerica 10:147168.10.1017/S0956536199101093CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, Thomas, and Alvarez, Steven 2000 Inside Chiquibul: Exploring Central America's Longest Cave. National Geographic 3:5566.Google Scholar
Moyes, Holley 2006 The Sacred Landscape as a Political Resource: A Case Study of Ancient Maya Cave Use at Chechem Ha Cave, Belize, Central America. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Department of Anthropology, State University of New York, Buffalo.Google Scholar
Moyes, Holley, Awe, Jaime J., Brook, George, and Webster, James 2009 The Ancient Maya Drought Cult: Late Classic Cave Use in Belize. Latin American Antiquity 20:175206.10.1017/S1045663500002571CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moyes, Holley, Kosakowsky, Laura, Ray, Erin E., and Awe, Jaime J. 2017 The Chronology of Ancient Maya Cave Use in Belize. Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 14:327338.Google Scholar
Neff, Hector, Pearsall, Deborah M., Jones, John G., Arroyo, Barbara, Collins, Shawn K., and Freidel, Dorothy E. 2006 Early Maya Adaptive Patterns: Mid- to Late Holocene Paleoenvironmental Evidence from Pacific Guatemala. Latin American Antiquity 17:287315.10.2307/25063054CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niederberger, Christine B. 1976 Zohapilco: Cinco Milenios de Ocupación Humana en un Sitio Lacustre de la Cuenca de México. Colección Científica 30. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico City.Google Scholar
Orsini, Stephanie R. 2016 From Turkeys to Tamales: Paleoindian to Preclassic Period Faunal Use at Maya Hak Cab Pek Rockshelter in Southern Belize. Unpublished Master's thesis. Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Mississippi, Oxford.Google Scholar
May, Peniche, Nancy, Lisa DeLance, and Awe, Jaime J. 2018 The Middle Preclassic Figurines from Cahal Pech, Belize Valley. Ancient Mesoamerica 30:221234.Google Scholar
Peniche May, Nancy 2016 Building Power: Political Dynamics in Cahal Pech, Belize During the Middle Preclassic. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Department of Anthropology, University of California, San Diego.Google Scholar
Peniche May, Nancy, Awe, Jaime J., and Ebert, Claire E. 2021 Migration and Conflict, or Emulation and Interaction? The Belize Valley During the Middle Preclassic. In Power, Politics, Violence, and Identity: 3,000 Years of War and Peace in Central America, edited by Braswell, Geoffrey E.. Routledge Archaeology of the Ancient Americas Series, Abingdon.Google Scholar
Piperno, Dolores R. 2011 The Origins of Plant Cultivation and Domestication in the New World Tropics: Patterns, Process, and New Developments. Current Anthropology 52:453470.10.1086/659998CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Piperno, Dolores R., and Pearsall, Deborah M. 1998 The Origins of Agriculture in the Lowland Neotropics. Academic Press, San Diego.Google Scholar
Pohl, Mary D. 1976 Ethnozoology of the Maya: An Analysis of Fauna from Five Sites in Peten, Guatemala. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Pohl, Mary D. 1983 Maya Ritual Faunas: Vertebrate Remains from Burials, Caches, Caves, and Cenotes in the Maya Lowlands. In Civilization in the Ancient Americas, edited by Leventhal, Richard and Kolata, Allan, pp. 55103. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Pohl, Mary D. Pope, Kevin O., Jones, John G., Jacob, John S., Piperno, Dolores R., deFrance, Susan D., Lentz, David L., Gifford, John A., Danforth, Marie E., and Josserand, J. Kathryn 1996 Early Agriculture in the Maya Lowlands. Latin American Antiquity 7:355372.10.2307/972264CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Potter, Daniel R. 1991 A Descriptive Taxonomy of Middle Preclassic Chert Tools at Colha, Belize. In Maya Stone Tools: Selected Papers from the Second Maya Lithic Conference, edited by Hester, Thomas R. and Shafer, Harry J., pp. 2129. Monographs in World Archaeology 1. Prehistory Press, Madison.Google Scholar
Powis, Terry G., Stanchly, Norbert, White, Christine D., Healy, Paul F., Awe, Jaime J., and Longstaffe, Fred 1999 A Reconstruction of Middle Preclassic Maya Subsistence Economy at Cahal Pech, Belize. Antiquity 73:364376.10.1017/S0003598X00088311CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Powis, Terry G., Horn, Sherman III, Iannone, Gyles, Healy, Paul F., Garber, James F., Awe, Jaime J., Skaggs, Sheldon, and Howie, Linda A. 2016 Middle Preclassic Period Maya Greenstone “Triangulates”: Forms, Contexts, and Geology of a Unique Mesoamerican Groundstone Artifact Type. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 10:5973.Google Scholar
Prufer, Keith M., Alsgaard, Asia V., Robinson, Mark, Meredith, Clayton R., Culleton, Brendan J., Dennehy, Timothy, Magee, Shelby, Huckell, Bruce B., James Stemp, W., Awe, Jaime J., Capriles, José M., and Kennett, Douglas J. 2019 Linking Late Paleoindian Stone Tool Technologies and Populations in North, Central and South America. PloS One 14(7):e0219812.10.1371/journal.pone.0219812CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Prufer, Keith M., Robinson, Mark, and Kennett, Douglas J. 2021 Terminal Pleistocene through Middle Holocene Occupations in Southeastern Mesoamerica: Linking Ecology and Culture in the Context of Neotropical Foragers and Early Farmers. Ancient Mesoamerica 32:439460.Google Scholar
Reich, David, Kennett, Douglas J., Lipson, Mark, Prufer, Keith M., Mora-Marin, David, George, Richard J., Rohland, Nadine, Robinson, Mark, Trask, Willa R., Edgar, Heather H.J., Hill, Ethan K., Ray, Erin, Lynch, Paige, Moes, Emily, O'Donnell, Alexis, Harper, Thomas K., Kate, Emily, Ramos, Josue, Morris, John, Gutiérrez, Said, Culleton, Brendan J., and Awe, Jaime J. 2020 Convergent Genetic, Linguistic, and Archaeological Evidence for an Ancient Migration of Farmers into the Maya Region. Unpublished manuscript in senior author's possession.Google Scholar
Reimer, Paula J., Austin, William E.N., Bard, Edouard, Bayliss, Alex, Blackwell, Paul G., Bronk Ramsey, Christopher, Butzin, Martin, Cheng, Hai, Edwards, R. Lawrence, Friedrich, Michael, Grootes, Pieter M., Guilderson, Thomas P., Hajdas, Irka, Heaton, Timothy J., Hogg, Alan G., Hughen, Konrad A., Kromer, Bernd, Manning, Sturt W., Muscheler, Raimund, Palmer, Jonathan G., Pearson, Charlotte, van der Plicht, Johannes, Reimer, Ron W., Richards, David A., Scott, E. Marian, Southon, John R., Turney, Christian S.M., Wacker, Lukas, Adolphi, Florian, Büntgen, Ulf, Capano, Manuela, Fahrni, Simon M., Fogtmann-Schulz, Alexandra, Friedrich, Ronny, Köhler, Peter, Kudsk, Sabrina, Miyake, Fusa, Olsen, Jesper, Reinig, Frederick, Sakamoto, Minoru, Sookdeo, Adam, and Talamo, Sahra 2020 The IntCal20 Northern Hemisphere Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curve (0–55 cal kBP). Radiocarbon 62:725757.10.1017/RDC.2020.41CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rice, Don S. 1976 Middle Preclassic Maya Settlement in the Central Maya Lowlands. Journal of Field Archaeology 3:425445.Google Scholar
Rice, Prudence M. 2018 Maya Crocodilians: Intersections of Myth and the Natural World at Early Nixtun-Ch’ich’, Petén, Guatemala. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 25:705738.10.1007/s10816-017-9352-0CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rice, Prudence M. 2019a Anthropomorphizing the Cosmos: Middle Preclassic Lowland Maya Figurines, Ritual, and Time. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.10.5876/9781607328896CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rice, Prudence M. 2019b Early Pottery and Construction at Nixtun-Ch'ich', Petén, Guatemala: Preliminary Observations. Latin American Antiquity 30:471489.10.1017/laq.2019.26CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rice, Prudence M. 2020 Crocodiles, Sharks, and Some Speculations on Central Peten Preclassic History. Ancient Mesoamerica 31:230247.10.1017/S0956536119000099CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rice, Prudence M. 2021 In Search of Middle Preclassic Lowland Maya Ideologies. Journal of Archaeological Research 29:146.10.1007/s10814-020-09144-yCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenswig, Robert M. 2004 New Archaeological Excavation Data from the Late Archaic Occupation of Northern Belize. Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 1:267277.Google Scholar
Rosenswig, Robert M. 2006a Sedentism and Food Production in Early Complex Societies of the Soconusco, Mexico. World Archaeology 38:329354.10.1080/00438240600694115CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenswig, Robert M. 2006b Northern Belize and the Soconusco: A Comparison of the Late Archaic to Formative Transition. Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 3:5971.Google Scholar
Rosenswig, Robert M. 2015 A Mosaic of Adaptation: The Archaeological Record for Mesoamerica's Archaic Period. Journal of Archaeological Research 23:115162.10.1007/s10814-014-9080-xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenswig, Robert M. 2019 Mesoamerica's Archaic Period. In Encyclopaedia of Global Archaeology, edited by Claire, Smith, pp. 116. Springer, Cham. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-51726-1.Google Scholar
Rosenswig, Robert M. 2021 Opinions on the Lowland Maya Late Archaic Period with Some Evidence from Northern Belize. Ancient Mesoamerica 32:461474.Google Scholar
Rosenswig, Robert M., Pearsall, Deborah M., Masson, Marilyn A., Culleton, Brendan J., and Kennett, Douglas J. 2014 Archaic Period Settlement and Subsistence in the Maya Lowlands: New Starch Grain and Lithic Data from Freshwater Creek, Belize. Journal of Archaeological Science 41:308321.10.1016/j.jas.2013.07.034CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scheffler, Timothy E. 2008 The El Gigante Rock Shelter, Honduras. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park.Google Scholar
Scheffler, Timothy E., Hirth, Kenneth G., and Hasemann, George 2012 The El Gigante Rockshelter: Preliminary Observation on an Early to Late Holocene Occupation in Southern Honduras. Latin American Antiquity 23:597610.10.7183/1045-6635.23.4.597CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shafer, Harry J. 1991 Late Preclassic Formal Stone Tool Production at Colha, Belize. In Maya Stone Tools: Selected Papers from the Second Maya Lithic Conference, edited by Hester, Thomas R. and Shafer, Harry J., pp. 3144. Monographs in World Archaeology 1. Prehistory Press, Madison.Google Scholar
Shafer, Harry J., and Hester, Thomas R. 1983 Ancient Maya Chert Workshops in Northern Belize, Central America. American Antiquity 48:519543.10.2307/280559CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sharer, Robert J., and Gifford, James C. 1970 Preclassic Ceramics from Chalchuapa, El Salvador, and Their Relationships with the Maya Lowlands. American Antiquity 35:441462.10.2307/278116CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stanchly, Norbert, and Burke, Chrissina 2018 Preclassic Animal Resource Use and the Origins of Ancient Maya Lifeways and Society: Contributions from Belize Zooarchaeology. Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 15:93104.Google Scholar
Stanchly, Norbert, and Awe, Jaime J. 2015 Ancient Maya Use of Dog (Canis lupus familiaris): Evidence from the Upper Belize River Valley. Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 12:227237.Google Scholar
Stark, Barbara L., Boxt, Matthew A., Gasco, Janine, Lauck, Rebecca B. González, Balkin, Jessica D. Hedgepeth, Joyce, Arthur A., King, Stacie M., Knight, Charles L.F., Kruger, Robert, Levine, Marc N., Lesure, Richard G., Mendelsohn, Rebecca, Navarro-Castillo, Marx, Neff, Hector, Ohnersorgen, Michael, Pool, Christopher A., Mark Raab, L., Rosenswig, Robert M., Venter, Marcie, Voorhies, Barbara, Williams, David T., and Workinger, Andrew 2016 Economic Growth in Mesoamerica: Obsidian Consumption in the Coastal Lowlands. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 41:263282.10.1016/j.jaa.2016.01.008CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stemp, W. James, and Awe, Jaime J. 2013 Possible Variation in the Late Archaic Period Bifaces in Belize: New Finds from the Cayo District of Western Belize. Lithic Technology 38:1731.10.1179/0197726113Z.0000000002CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stemp, W. James, and Harrison-Buck, E. 2019 Pre-Maya Lithic Technology in the Wetlands of Belize: The Chipped Stone from Crawford Bank. Lithic Technology 44:183198.10.1080/01977261.2019.1629173CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stemp, W. James, Awe, Jaime J., Prufer, Keith M., and Helmke, Christophe G.B. 2016 Design and Function of Lowe and Sawmill Points from the Preceramic Period of Belize. Latin American Antiquity 27:279299.10.7183/1045-6635.27.3.279CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stemp, W. James, Awe, Jaime J., Brown, M. Kathryn, Harrison-Buck, Eleanor, Helmke, Christophe G. B., Wrobel, Gabriel D., and Yaeger, Jason 2018a Four Preceramic Points Newly Discovered in Belize: A Comment on Stemp et al. (2016: 279–299). Latin American Antiquity 29:394397.Google Scholar
Stemp, W. James, Awe, Jaime J., Brown, M. Kathryn, and Garber, James F. 2018b Rock Bottom: Maya Lithic Technology in the Early Terminal to Late Middle Preclassic Periods at Cahal Pech and Blackman Eddy, Cayo District, Belize. Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 15:7992.Google Scholar
Stemp, W. James, Awe, Jaime J., and Wrobel, Gabriel D. 2021 Better Late Than Never: Current Understanding of the Preceramic in Western and Central Belize. Paper presented at the 87th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, March 30–April 3, Chicago.Google Scholar
Stocker, Terry, Meltzoff, Sarah, and Armsey, Steve 1980 Crocodilians and Olmecs: Further Interpretations in Formative Period Iconography. American Antiquity 45:740758.10.2307/280145CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strelow, Duane, and LeCount, Lisa J. 2001 Regional Interaction in the Formative Southern Maya Lowlands: Evidence of Olmecoid Stylistic Motifs in a Cunil Ceramic Assemblage from Xunantunich, Belize. Poster presented at the 66th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, April 18–22, New Orleans.Google Scholar
Sullivan, Lauren, and Awe, Jaime J. 2013 Establishing the Cunil Ceramic Complex at Cahal Pech, Belize. In Ancient Maya Pottery: Classification, Analysis, and Interpretation, edited by Aimers, James John, pp. 107120. University of Florida Press, Gainesville.10.5744/florida/9780813042367.003.0007CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sullivan, Lauren, and Awe, Jaime J. 2021 Cunil through Kanluk Pottery at Cahal Pech. In Exploring the Unnamed Era: Pre-Mamom Pottery in the Maya Lowlands of Yucatan, Petén and Belize, edited by Walker, Debra. University of Florida Press, Gainesville. In press.Google Scholar
Sullivan, Lauren A., Awe, Jaime J., and Brown, M. Kathryn 2018 The Cunil Complex: Early Villages in the Maya Lowlands. In Pathways to Complexity: A View from the Maya Lowlands, edited by Brown, M. Kathryn and Bey, George, pp. 3548. University of Florida Press, Orlando.10.2307/j.ctvx075hx.8CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sunahara, Kay S., Chartrand, Joelle M., Healy, Paul F., and Awe, Jaime J. 2018 Petrographic Analysis of Cunil Phase (1100–900 b.c.e.) and Spanish Lookout Phase (c.e. 700–900) Maya Pottery from Western Belize. Poster presented at the International Symposium on Archaeometry, May 20–26, Merida, Yucatan.Google Scholar
Thompson, J. Eric S. 1954 The Rise and Fall of Maya Civilization. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.Google Scholar
Tykot, Robert H., van der Merwe, Nikolaas J., and Hammond, Norman 1996 Stable Isotope Analysis of Bone Collagen, Bone Apatite, and Tooth Enamel in the Reconstruction of Human Diet: A Case Study from Cuello, Belize. In Archaeological Chemistry: Organic, Inorganic, and Biochemical Analyses, edited by Orna, Mary Virginia, pp. 355365. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC.10.1021/bk-1996-0625.ch025CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Voorhies, Barbara 2004 Coastal Collectors in the Holocene: The Chantuto People of Southwest Mexico. University of Florida Press, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Voorhies, Barbara (revised by Lohse), Jon C. 2012 Archaic Period in Mesoamerica. In The Oxford Companion to Archaeology, Volume 2, edited by Silberman, Neil A., pp. 342346. Oxford University Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
Wahl, David B., Byrne, Roger, Schreiner, Thomas, and Hansen, Richard 2006 Holocene Vegetation Change in the Northern Peten and Its Implications for Maya Prehistory. Quaternary Research 65:380389.10.1016/j.yqres.2005.10.004CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wake, Timothy A. 2004 A Vertebrate Archaeofauna from the Early Formative Period Site of Paso de la Amada, Chiapas, Mexico. In Maya Zooarchaeology: New Directions in Method and Theory, edited by Emery, Kitty F., pp. 209222. Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Monograph 51. University of California, Los Angeles.10.2307/j.ctvhhhfkb.19CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weintraub, Boris 1994 Geographica. National Geographic 185(4), April.Google Scholar
Wiesen, Alan, and Lentz, David 1997 Floral Remains at Cahal Pech and Surrounding Sites. Research report, New York Botanical Garden, New York.Google Scholar
Willey, Gordon R. 1978 Artifacts. In Excavations at Seibal Department of Peten, Guatemala, edited by Willey, Gordon R., pp. 1189. Memoirs of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology 14(1). Harvard University, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Willey, Gordon R., Bollard, William R. Jr., Glass, John B., and Gifford, James C. 1965 Prehistoric Maya Settlements in the Belize Valley. Papers of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Wing, Elizabeth S. 1978 Use of Dogs for Food: An Adaptation to the Coastal Environment. In Prehistoric Coastal Adaptations: The Economy and Ecology of Maritime Middle America, edited by Stark, L. Barbara and Voorhies, Barbara, pp. 2941. Academic Press, New York.10.1016/B978-0-12-663250-7.50011-6CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wing, Elizabeth S., and Scudder, Sylvia J. 1991 The Exploitation of Animals. In Cuello: An Early Maya Community in Belize, edited by Hammond, Norman, pp. 8497. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Zeder, Melinda A. 2012 The Broad Spectrum Revolution at 40: Resource Diversity, Intensification, and an Alternative to Optimal Foraging Explanations. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 31:241264.10.1016/j.jaa.2012.03.003CrossRefGoogle Scholar